CFA - PHOENIX

Fall flew past us..

2009-11-30T16:12:00.016-07:00

Here we are on November 30th, almost December!! Our kids have been busy studying, working hard, and playing hard too! We have had wonderful opportunities provided to us through our partners and our staff throughout the fall. Here are some snapshots of what has been going on! Thank you for all who have been apart of our journey this fall! You mean more to us than you will ever know!
-- Your Family at CFA

*20/30 Men's club took a bujavascript:void(0)nch of our kids to Wal-Mart for a back-to-school shopping day!*

*20/30 Men's club took a bunch of our kiddos to Wal-Mart for a shopping day!*

*20/30 Men's club took a bunch of our students to Wal-Mart for a shopping day!*

*Mr Young handing out school supplies to the kiddos during Halloween @ CFA!*

*Halloween 2009 @ CFA!*

*Halloween @ CFA brought students & their families in for Parent Night & Trick-or-treating for school supplies! Oct 2009*

*Diamondbacks Strength & Conditioning Coach - Mr. Shaw - came to whip these kids into shape with a short excercise program!*

*Hanging out @ Recess*

*Fall Fun Run Nov 2009 - Letting Balloons go - in Remembrance of Ms. Erin.*

*Mr. Young & Mrs. Leano participating in the Fall Fun Run Nov. 2009*

*Running Hard @ the Fall Fun Run - Nov. 2009*

*Mrs. Fowler participating in the Fall Fun Run - Nov. 2009*

*Mrs. Janiga participating in the Fall Fun Run - Nov. 2009*

*Fall Fun Run - November 2009*

Here we are on November 30th, almost December!! Our kids have been busy studying, working hard, and playing hard too! We have had wonderful opportunities provided to us through our partners and our staff throughout the fall. Here are some snapshots of what has been going on!

Summer went fast..

2009-08-02T21:25:00.008-07:00

School has started here at CFA, but we can't forget the 4 wonderful weeks in which we partnered with Communities in Schools of Arizona to have a summer program for our kids! Here are a few of many pictures that were captured during those 4 weeks.

*Water Day @ CFA*

* A little too much fun with markers...*

*Fire Safety from PFD*

*Water Day*

*Water*

*A Night out at the Diamondbacks*

*Fun with Chalk*

*Dance Time*

*Phoenix Recycling came in*

*Making fun of the teachers...*

*Fun time outside*

*Make an angry face ...*

*story time*

Those were just a few pictures of many :)

What a difference a week makes...

2009-07-23T20:11:00.002-07:00

To the Arizona Tree Council, Mr. Bob Franchetto, the leadership and crew at GroundsKeeper, Horizon, Steve, Arizona Landscape Contractors Association, Alternative Edge, Ditch Witch...thank you so very much.

The behind the scenes designs, meetings, coordination, execution will make a monumental difference in the lives of our wonderful children.

The cheers from our teachers say it all...we love you, we applaud you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Life is Brilliant with grass, trees and shrubs!

CFA-Phoenix Talent Fair

2009-07-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Dear CFA Partners: Thank you so much for your support for CFA over the past year! We hope to see you at our event on July 17th! Children First Academy in cooperation with our new partners Communities in Schools are excited to share our collaborative summer program with you! Come for part or all of the event...we would love to see you there! You are invited to eat lunch with the kids, so please indicate if you will also attend lunch when you RSVP to Regina at: reginamitzel@gmail.com 602-712-0500 x23

JOIN OUR CAUSE - JOIN OUR TEAM

2009-05-13T13:01:00.002-07:00

We are hiring highly qualified professionals for positions in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th grades! Individuals with a desire to be engaged in the civil rights movement of our generation - educating children of homeless families - are invited to apply.

Call 602.615.5586 or visit www.cfaphoenix.org for more information.

Great things are happening!

Kids Need To Read!

2009-04-24T10:04:00.002-07:00

To learn more go here!

Thanks Tina!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!!

2009-04-23T13:05:00.001-07:00

Hat tip to the Arizona Diamondbacks Community Affairs Department! Maxine Royer awards our students with tickets to a baseball game - a reward for demonstrating good character and making provident choices. These are our best and brightest!

Baseball is Brilliant!

60 LAPTOPS!

2009-04-14T14:24:00.002-07:00

Every Kid Counts has arranged for the donation of 60 lap top computers to the students of CFA-Phoenix.

At an Executive Board Meeting today, the members voted unanimously to change the lives of over 250 children of homeless families. Adding a the component of a mobile technology infrastructure is an overwhelming cost for any school - the impact will be felt for years to come!

Students and teachers are looking forward to putting these computers to work!

Thanks EKC!

Technology is Brilliant!

To learn more about Every Kid Counts and their rich philanthropic history, upcoming events and projects please visit WWW.EVERYKIDCOUNTS.ORG.

Family Picture Night

2009-04-08T09:58:00.008-07:00

How many of you have a family picture? Dogs, cats, brothers, sisters, la de da de everybody? It is comforting to look up on the wall and see that group, reminisce, and maybe poke a little fun at Dad's receding hair line...

Through Each Others Eyes spent all afternoon and evening taking family pictures for 55 of our CFA families! Cutting Edge Style Academy donated 13 sytlists, hair brushes, combs, gel and all the hair fixins you could shake a stick at!

For some, this was their first family picture ever. Thank you to Mrs. Wellman, Mr. Frank, Ms. Gerdon and Mrs. Felix for pulling late hours to support our families.

55 families! Let's triple it next year!

Tim Wilkinson of ING

2009-04-08T09:35:00.008-07:00

Tim and his team of exceptional individuals stopped by our school on Monday to PUMP US UP!

He spoke to us about setting goals. He told us how incredibly talented the kids are and how proud of us he is in all that we have accomplished!

Tim GAVE us his Test Taking Tips - FOR FREE! Don't tell anyone!

1. Mental house-cleaning - get rid of all the negative thoughts.
2. Focus - stay with each question and do your best.
3. Set goals and review them every day.

Tim, thank you so much!

Now that's a mouthful!

2009-04-03T09:01:00.001-07:00

Our partnership with Community Dental continues. This month alone...

15 children seen and finished treatment plans
60% has no dental history.
13% saw a dentist more than 1 yr ago.
27% saw a dentist within one year

We were able to combat 85 cavities!!! The following is the breakdown:
79 surface fillings were done
2 extractions
4 stainless steel crown
4 baby root canals

CFA has also changed their breakfast menu to reflect our efforts to provide a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

Hearts to Hands provides our children with monthly birthday parties - and they bring healthy snacks and stimulating family/children games for the benefit of the children!

For more information go here and here.

State Capital Visit

2009-03-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

2009-03-01T22:02:00.002-07:00

The Clothing Room Gets a Makeover!

2009-02-28T18:51:00.003-07:00

Our Clothing Room gets a new look once again! We owe our thanks to a very generous and talented friend of the school. The clothing racks were hand-made and custom built just for our room. These racks will help keep the clothing room organized as well as letting the children see the clothes better.

Our School's in the Spotlight!

2009-02-17T14:14:00.004-07:00

When I was in college, Mark Crockett told me, "Jarret, you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with." How true.

We stand on the shoulders of giants in our association with Arizona Charter School Association . Their recent feature of CFA - Phoenix in their E-update talks about our mission and our students.

We are proud to partner with such a fine organization. We applaud their efforts on behalf of the students, parents - moreover, the charter community.

Find out more by going here.

SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Nation's Largest School for Homeless Children Offers More than a Quality Education
The students who enroll in Children First Academy - Phoenix are not typical public school students. Many of the children routinely go without life's basic necessities - food, clothing, air conditioning, water, and most importantly a stable home life.
Although many of the students never spend more than one night in the same place, they always have their school to attend each day. It fulfills much more than the typical school's role; it is the sense of stability these children so desperately need.
The staff at Children First Academy address the most critical needs of their students each day - this includes transportation, meals, clothing and even medical and dental care. The school has five buses with no set boundaries. Each day they pick up the children whose addresses change on a weekly, even daily, basis. Breakfast and lunch are provided by the school, and a mobile dental and medical unit visits the kids each week. Children First Academy - Phoenix also has a clothing closet that the children visit once a month. In addition to the clothes, they get hygiene packages complete with shampoo, soap and toothpaste.
To put their plight into dollars and cents, there are approximately 28,000 high school dropouts in Arizona each year, which costs $28 million (or $1 million per dropout) in state revenues, or taxable revenues over the course of their lifetime that they would otherwise inject or infuse into the economy.
Because of the services that Children First Academy provides, it is more than just a school; it is the student's safety net and their lifeline to a better future.

Family Night - Art Walk

2009-02-05T22:26:00.002-07:00

Gratitude...

2009-02-05T22:03:00.001-07:00

CFA's Principals Advisory Council visited Phoenix Military Entrance Processing Station today.

Captain Jackson, USAF, took us on a tour and gave the oath to four wide-eyed young men.

Representatives of all the Armed Forces treated us like royalty, demonstrated the very finest qualities of man and womanhood.

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Etched in the minds of these young men are the qualities of a soldier, honor, duty and country. Their hearts burn with the yearning to have such aptitudes worthy of such service. Their spirits soar with the realizations associated with a future...something more than just the survival of today.

Thanks Captain Jackson.

AAARRRRRRT!

2009-01-16T11:46:00.005-07:00

From the very first correspondence from Ms. York, I could tell that this was going to be a great relationship! Her tenacity, careful planning and calculated execution have proven to have a significant impact on our campus.

We met very early in November, drafting plans for introducing art programs to our students, K-6. She met thereafter with our Resource Development Coordinator and Small Learning Community Coordinator.

Her schedule serves the entire campus. Meg brought in donated items, agreeing to allow us to keep them. Her planning was meticulous as demonstrated by careful and deliberate quality classroom experiences, culminating in quality art work.

Meg's demonstrated a keen inner gift for managing a very demanding schedule, highly varied interest & ability levels, diverse teacher expectations and a challenging group of students.

This is a productive and meaningful experience for the Children First family. We have even built our upcoming parent night around an "art walk" gallery experience - based on her success as a teacher! Our current staff members laud her with praise for her planning, execution and the very obvious impact she's having on our students.

All this in the first week.

Meg, you've set the bar very high for us, and for artists who'll follow. Thank you.

Life is beautiful.

2009-01-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

Meet Our School Nurse

2009-01-13T18:59:00.003-07:00

Post-Holiday Update

2009-01-04T18:45:00.003-07:00

CFA - Phoenix Campus partners with Chicanos Por La Causa in sponsoring more than 35 families for Christmas!

Well wishes to our sister school in Tempe. Mrs. Fernichio you and your family are in our hearts and prayers - God speed a safe return. Let us know if you need anything at all.

Giving back!

2008-12-19T06:30:00.005-07:00

In addition to the adopt-a-classroom program, CFA partnered with Hearts to Hands and Every Kid Counts in a toy giveaway.

Our students were encouraged to select a gift that they might give to a sibling or a family member. Family games, art sets and other fun gifts were made available.

Corona del Sol High School Future Teachers of America brought us a check for $2000!

OfficeMax surprised us with a check for $1000!

Hearts to Hands provided healthy goody bags of fruit.

Jamy and her family gave a book to every student on campus.

Every Kid Counts provided many of our gifts, including batteries for the games and toys.

Our CFA family continues to grow and we appreciate the efforts of our family members.

Behind the scenes are our bus drivers who shuttle our kids home every day, rain or shine, and help them arrive safely. Mr. Felix who arrives so early in the morning and works to keep our school beautiful.

Thank you to Ms. Ryan, Ms. Christine, Mr. Frank, Ms. Gerdon, Ms. Maria, Ms. Natasha for the late nights, early mornings, extra duties and many hats you all wear.

To our teachers, who've worked so hard this year. You've accomplished so much!

Merry Christmas! We love you all.

Adopt-A-Classroom

2008-12-19T06:17:00.003-07:00

This week private charities and local corporations from the CFA-Phoenix family of donors adopted an entire classroom and provided the children with a customized Christmas party.

Each of our children were given blankets, coats, food and gifts.

Thank you to our partners!

Great pipes!

2008-12-19T05:30:00.001-07:00

What you see here is a concert given by our sister school, Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics. They favored us with a host of holiday classics and a few new numbers as well.

What a talented group of students! Our campus was very peaceful during your visit - many teachers and volunteers stopped in the halls just to listen to your voices.

We are better for your presence.

CFA Vocals and Saxaphone Accompaniment

2008-12-19T05:28:00.001-07:00

Karen, your son is amazing! You quietly come two days a week and work diligently in our special education program. You've never asked for acknowledgment. You are an example of service and leadership. Then you bring us your son, who plays for us and impromptu accompanies our CFA Vocal SLC!

Thank you so much! We love Karen!

Vocal stylings of our SLC Choir

2008-12-17T06:37:00.001-07:00

Today's Lunch Box Cafe entertainment featured our Vocal Small Learning Community, who on their own, arranged and practiced the songs. They selected their performances, dates, and audiences. They've yet to get a record contract - but then again, who knows?

They do this while maintaining superior academic performance, wonderful behavior and perfect attendance. Some voluntarily attend our after school tutoring program - run voluntarily by Mrs. Felix (thank you!).

Well done.

Serendipity

2008-12-15T21:36:00.001-07:00

Stopping by Fry's Grocery to grab a tub of sour cream and noticing a Reading Tree donation bin is one thing. Its quite another to call them about their program and have Tyler show up the very next day.

Still another is to have them donate over 1,500 books to Children First Academy in one month.

But wait...there's more!

Then the folks from Fry's show up with more books, Sequoia Secondary entertains us with their glorious vocals, and the students all take home a book for themselves!

Classroom libraries, school library, personal libraries. Family literacy project in full effect!

Fry's, we really do love you! Reading Tree - you touch the future!

Our Kids Sake

2008-12-12T22:07:00.002-07:00

Here about three months ago, I got a call from Jennifer Boden, Executive Director of Our Kids Sake, an international non-profit organization focused on ending homelessness. They do this primarily through nutritional programs - and Jennifer called us reminiscing over her days at ASU!

Long story short...you see the results above. And Jennifer...thanks. We love you.

Life is Brilliant!

We Love You Mrs. Green

2008-12-12T21:59:00.002-07:00

You may remember the Boys to Men song, It's So Hard To Say Goodbye, circa 1991? It is apropos in this particular situation. In light of saying goodbye, CFA has issued an edict, forbidding goodbyes of any kind, and instead we offer Adieu...until we meet again.

Hat tip to Mrs. Green.

No Clowning Around...

2008-12-11T21:39:00.002-07:00

The Shriner's, the largest charitable organization in the world, graced our campus with their presents...oops...presence this week! Delivering over $1000 worth of food, clothing and gift items for this holiday season.

All balloon animals aside, these gentlemen know how to throw a rewarding and meaningful party. Thank you for thinking of our children. Thank you for the shoes, underwear, sweatshirts and socks.

You've warmed our hearts and our children!

The tooth fairies are real...

2008-12-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

...and all of them work right here 2-3 days a week!

For the month of Nov, Community Dental was able to see 36 children. The important thing to note is not the # of children seen, but the amount of cavities they took care of. They spent a long time on many children who had anywhere from 8-13 cavites!, as young as 5 years old.

We were able to combat 206 cavities!!!
170 were fillings
31 were extractions
5 were crowns + baby root canals

On the preventive side, we were able to seal 67 healthy molars - to help prevent cavities!

For dental history, 20 of the children did not have any dental history

8 children went to a dentist greater then a year ago (some going back four years ago).

8 who saw a dentist less then one year ago...but many were not taken back to finish dental treatment because there were still cavities left untreated.

As we consider nutrition and wellness as a function of educating the whole child - it is important to note what an integral role literacy, small learning communities, personal health and partnerships play in establishing life long practices that will change their lives forever!

THANK YOU COMMUNITY DENTAL!

Shazaam!

2008-12-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Cue music.

And now, pulling straight A's with 100% attendance and absolutely the very highest quality of student behavior - CFA HillToppers!

11 of the best and brightest pulled an all-nighter with backbone staff members and attended a Phoenix Suns game last night. Many thanks to Grant Hill. We appreciate Chris Mallory, Community Relations for the Phoenix Suns.

As you can tell by the expression on the faces of the couple sitting in front of us, we had a BLAST!

Thank You Sams Club

2008-12-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

So this really cool lady named Lisa stops by with a passle of her best compadres. They greet our CFA Student Council in the lobby and roll out a check for $4000!

Can you hear Harey Carey saying "Holy Cow!"? We can, loud and clear.

Hat tip to the WONDERFUL folks at Sams Club - we love you! Look for updates on our technology roll-out program and how we squeeze every single penny into advancing our students' education.

Riders on the Storm...

2008-12-08T19:20:00.001-07:00

CYCLERIDES TOY DRIVE

To Barry and all the riders in the Valley of the Sun!

Kickball with Joy Christian

2008-12-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

Turkey Tuesday!

2008-11-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Over $10,000 donated to Children First Academy from our community!

Thank you Target!

Thank you Christopher's!

Over 160 families served!

Over 50 volunteers (including our amazing Assistant Superintendent and our SLC Leadership Cadre)

Amidst the doom and gloom of talking head media types - we stand as a witness to the greater good of our community in serving, giving and setting the pace for the world in this time of celebration.

It is a hopeful time to be alive - a great time to lead and serve - a wonderful time to grow!

Children First Academy follows that example and donated over 6 van/truck loads of goods to St. Vincent de Paul.

Giving and giving back. By small and simple things...

Life is brilliant!

Thank You Bank of America

2008-11-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Our Student Council traveled to meet with our Bank of America partners.

Bank of America once again generously shared food and friendship.

You all embody the Thanksgiving spirit. Enjoy your much deserved time with your families. See you soon.

Sequoia Family Learning Fieldtrip to CFA

2008-11-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to SFL, you all went above and beyond to show our third grade class a great time. The kids loved making their "dirt pudding". We look forward to your visits, they are heartfelt and meaningful to all of us here at CFA.

Field Trip to Alliance Book Company

2008-11-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful adventure at Alliance Book Company Distributors. We had the fortune of discovering a multitude of books for our school library and our tutoring groups. The Alliance team was most generous with their time and resources.

Take the time to visit, check out their website at www.alliancebookcompany.com

Dance Lesson

2008-11-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

We would like to thank Sequoia Family Learning for taking the time to come out and teach our dance group a few moves. The students and staff really enjoyed watching this group perform.

Community Dental Mobile Clinic

2008-11-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

WHAT?
118 cavities
98 fillings
10 extractions
10 crowns/root canals

106 healthy molars!

WHO?
Community Dental Mobile Clinic

WHEN?
Three times a week?

WHERE?
Children First Academy - Phoenix Campus

Special thanks Jennifer Blair of Delta Dental AZ Foundation!
-300 youth toothbrushes
-300 adult toothbrushes
-600 tubes of toothpaste
-600 dental floss

Life is brilliant!

6th Grade Wellness S.L.C. Teaching Yoga

2008-11-12T21:47:00.001-07:00

Third Grade S.L.C.

2008-11-11T18:46:00.001-07:00

We Have A Library!

2008-11-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Service Learning Project Day

2008-11-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Great Pumpkin Drop

2008-11-03T20:29:00.000-07:00